News You Should Know 10/26

Thousands of previously classified documents regarding the assassination of John F. Kennedy will soon be available for the American public to see. A 1992 law stated that the remaining documents would be declassified on October 26, 2017, unless the President objected because of a security threat. President Donald Trump has said he will allow for the documents to be released to the American public.

The thousands of pages that are being declassified are the remaining one percent of pages that were composed about the assassination. Millions of pages have already been declassified over the years. These pages, however, are expected to be the ones that contain the most secret information regarding the event.

Citizens hope that the release of these papers answers some of their questions about the assassination. Questions still remain as to what exactly happened on the day Kennedy was killed. People remain skeptical towards what the government knows about the assassination, as well as whether or not intelligence agencies knew about Kennedy’s killer before the assassination.

The government maintains their belief that they are not hiding anything. However, others hope that the information can help to provide a better understanding of what occurred in Dallas 54 years ago.

Local News:

Patricia Morgan, a Republican who represents District 26 in Rhode Island’s House of Representatives, announced Monday morning that she is running for governor in the 2018 election. She is the first Republican this year to officially announced her candidacy to be the Rhode Island governor.

Morgan will be challenging Rhode Island’s current governor, Gina Raimondo. Morgan hopes to “fight corruption” and “restore economic prosperity” to the state. In a video that announced her candidacy, Morgan explained the need for Rhode Island citizens to elect someone with “grounded leadership and a clear vision”.

In Providence, there are 26 acres of grass and barren land that is known as “The I-95 Land.” This land is where part of I-95 used to run through Providence, before being taken down years ago. Now, a commission hopes to turn this land into an area with “high-value industries” that can attract individuals looking for jobs. Current developments of the land include a parking space and a pedestrian walking bridge.

Future plans include apartments, stores and businesses that span across the 26-acre stretch. Peter McNally, the head of the I-95 Redevelopment Committee, said that despite years of not renovating the land, there is renewed hope about upcoming developments. This is largely due to the fact that a 150 million dollar Innovation Center had broke ground in September. McNally hopes that this jumpstarts future developments on the land.

National News

President Donald Trump has once again become the center of controversy, this time following the call he made to the widow of a soldier killed by a terrorist ambush in Niger.

Myeshia Johnson, the widow of Army Sergeant La David Johnson, said that Trump’s call left her “angry and in tears.” She described that Trump blundered his condolence and used a disrespectful tone. Trump told Johnson that her husband “knew what he signed up for.” Additionally, she said it seemed as if Trump forgot the name of her husband at one point during the call.

Trump disputed her comments, saying that he “had a very respectful conversation” and “spoke his name from the beginning, without hesitation.” Trump then avoided other questions about how he handled the call.

A Tampa Bay, Florida neighborhood is being advised to stay indoors after police found evidence to suggest a serial killer has shot and killed three people in an eleven-day span. The Tampa Bay Police Chief, Brian Dugan, stated that he “believes the killings are connected based on their close proximity and time frame,” but did acknowledge that multiple people could be the suspects, rather than one killer.

Police say that they have “no leads” and “no motives” about the killings. They are aware of an individual seen on a security camera on the night of the first murder but have been unable to identify him.

Police have warned people to remain on the lookout for possible suspects. They have also drastically increased patrols in the area and have officers constantly searching for signs of a suspicious individual. Police advised residents to be smart, but “not to let evil” win over.

International News:

The Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, has a very good chance of being reelected next September after the ruling coalition that endorses him saw big electoral victories over the weekend.

The national elections, which were held Sunday, resulted in the Liberal Democratic Party having enough seats in their lower house to hold a two-thirds majority. The party already had a two-thirds majority in the upper house, and they maintained those seats.

The ruling coalition gaining seats means that Abe, who is supported by them, should easily maintain his role as Prime Minister. This also means that the chances of measures on his agenda getting passed are relatively high. The lower house is who decides upon the Prime Minister. Despite low approval ratings, with Abe’s party maintaining power, it looks very likely he will remain the Japanese Prime Minister.

Caitlan Coleman, a Pennsylvania woman who was captured in Afghanistan five years ago and released several weeks ago, has started to describe the horrors that she and her family endured while captive. She was also pregnant at the time of her capture. While she is not ready to publicly discuss what happened, she has shared a series of emails about what her capture was like and how she survived for years. She looks forward to being discharged from the hospital and spending time with her family, and attempt to put the terrifying ordeal behind her.